COVID-19 Vignettes: Ben Kimball creatively booming video production business

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  • 140th Wing

The COVID-19 crisis created a cascade of negative effects for many, but with a little ingenuity, some local businesses thrived.

“At our company, about half of our clients are in the Continuing Medical Education industry,” said Ben Kimball, who, along with his father, retired U.S. Air Force Reserve Chief Master Sgt. Tom Kimball, owns and operates Kimball Productions.

 “When COVID-19 hit, all of the live events, where we normally capture educational activities, were canceled,” said Ben, who’s also a public affairs officer for the 140th Wing, Colorado National Guard. “So some of the biggest challenges were not only a threat to our bottom line, but more importantly, to the end client; doctors, nurses and physician’s assistants would be left in the dark regarding the latest information in current medical studies and their expert colleagues’ insights that they can use in their clinics.”

“Realizing that we have extensive experience in video capture, we immediately brainstormed, tested and fielded a simple-to-use, high-quality, video capture system that we could ship directly to faculty members and then coordinate discussions via Zoom calls to capture this essential (sometimes even COVID-19 related) medical education,” Ben said.

So, aside from keeping their business alive, what else motivated such ingenuity?

“Our driving force for this novel way of capturing medical education came out of simply asking the question: ‘What can we do?’” Ben said. “We’ve all heard a lot of ‘can’t’ since this pandemic began, but we’ve found incredible energy and inspiration in asking what we can do. And frankly, the stakes are too high. Our customers are serving men and women on the frontlines of the healthcare system. They need to keep current and stay sharp so that they can take care of the rest of us.”

The Kimballs said they’ve had an incredibly positive reception from their clients, and the faculty members involved in these activities.

“The opportunity to continue to communicate important medical education to people who need it, in a timely manner, and despite being denied the availability to travel, has shown them that not only can they pivot – they might just be establishing a whole new way of doing business moving forward,” Ben said.

“It’s clear to us that providence has provided a silver lining in an admittedly dark time,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be of service to our clients and their customers by borrowing from some of our military training values and know-how; we’re not going to let any problem beat us. We will always seek to improvise, adapt, and overcome. And as Army Gen. George S. Patton said, ‘A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.’”